In today’s world, when most documents are created and stored electronically, saving files in PDF format has become extremely popular. This format not only preserves the original look of the document, but also allows for easy sharing and printing. In this article, we will learn how to save files in PDF format and what the benefits and challenges are.
What is PDF?
PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a file format created by Adobe Systems to allow easy sharing and printing of documents. This format is platform and program independent, meaning that PDF documents look the same across devices and operating systems. In addition, PDF files can contain a variety of elements, such as text, images, links, interactive forms, and more.
Benefits of Saving Files in PDF Format
Saving files in PDF format has many benefits. Here are a few of them:
Preserving the Original Appearance of the Document
The PDF format preserves the original appearance of a document, regardless of the device or program it is opened on. This means that PDF documents look the same as they were designed to look, regardless of the screen size or operating system.
Easy to Share
PDFs are easy to share because they can be opened on different devices and operating systems. Simply send a PDF as an email attachment or post it on a website for others to open and view.
Data Protection
The PDF format allows you to secure documents with passwords, print restrictions, and copy restrictions. This helps protect confidential information and ensure that documents are not changed without the author’s permission.
Challenges of Saving Files as PDFs
Despite its many benefits, saving files in PDF format can come with its own set of challenges. Here are a few:
Conversion from Other Formats
If you have a document in another format, you may need to convert it to PDF, such as DWG to PDF. Some programs may not support direct saving to PDF, so you will need to use an online converter or another program.
File Size
PDF files can be larger than other file formats, which can affect transmission and storage times. For large documents, you may need to compress the PDF or split it into smaller pieces.
Editing Documents
The PDF format is typically used for read-only documents, which means that editing a PDF can be difficult. If you want to make changes to a PDF file, you may need to use a PDF editor or convert the file to another format, edit it, and then convert it back to PDF.
How to Save Files in PDF Format
There are many ways to save files as PDFs. Here are a few of the most popular methods:
1. Using a PDF Program
One of the most popular programs for creating and editing PDF files is SwifDoo PDF for Windows. To save a document as a PDF using this program, simply open the file, select “Save as” or “Export” and choose the PDF format. You can then customize the saving settings, such as image quality, security, and interactive elements.
And what can we say about SwifDoo PDF? It is a premium software that has become a trusted standard for viewing, printing, signing, sharing and annotating PDF documents, it also supports you to find font from a PDF file.
2. Using a Web Browser
Many web browsers, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, allow you to save web pages as PDF files. Simply open the page, right-click, and select “Print.” Then, in the print dialog, select “Save as PDF” and specify where to save the file.
3. Using Online Converters
If you don’t have access to a dedicated PDF program or special browser features, you can use online converters. There are many websites that allow you to convert various file formats to PDF. Simply upload your file to the site, select the target format as PDF, and download the finished file.
How to Extract and Save Multiple Pages from a PDF File
If we have a multi-page PDF file and we need to extract one of them, printing to a PDF file using a so-called virtual printer will be the best solution. To do this, open the PDF file and find the page that we want to save as a separate sheet. Then go to the “File” and “Print” tabs and when the print window appears, select the available virtual printer. Go to the “Pages” tab, where we mark the pages that we want to extract. We give it a name and choose the location where the new file is to be saved.
Microsoft has a built-in virtual printer in its latest products, so there is no need to install additional plug-ins or dedicated programs for this purpose. To create a PDF file, simply select the “Print” command and then find “Microsoft Print to PDF” from the list. So as you can see, this is a very simple operation to perform and makes using PDF tools much easier.
Conclusion
Saving in PDF allows you to view all these documents, even in a web browser, without the need to have the application installed on your computer. What’s more, whether you open the file with a browser or with a downloaded program, it will look the same.
Saving a file to a PDF will also make you able to open it on a device with any operating system. So you don’t have to worry that the recipient to whom you are sending the document has different software than you.
